Fight Grid
We are in the final two-month stretch to the biggest combat sports event of the year. EAW’s 17th annual Pain for Pride event is set to take place in Orlando, Florida, on the weekend of June 21-23, 2024, at Camping World Stadium. All four World Championships are expected to be defended, along with showcases from a litany of EAW’s top talent on the active full-time roster and its Hall of Fame. The event will be of particular importance not only because of its historical precedence but also because it marks the climactic ending of EAW’s 2-year, 20-billion-dollar arrangement with The Walt Disney Company. Pain for Pride Kingdom: ‘Pain for Pride Kingdom’, will be hosted in Orlando, Florida, and will consist of a four-day incredible fan access experience, EAW Hall of Fame ceremony, three-night wrestling event, and local merchandising/fan engagements. Courtesy of our source at EAW Headquarters in Newark, NJ, here is what’s to be expected of the extravagant week in store per a memo sent out to investors earlier this year:
Pain for Pride Kingdom (wrestling event): The annual three-night event, dubbed ‘Showcase of the Immortals’ and ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ among other slogans, has sold 225,735 tickets since early September—not counting VIP seating and backstage passes. This is expected to set the attendance record at Camping World Stadium and far surpass the previous single-night record set in 2003 for The Florida Classic. As previously mentioned, all four World Championships are expected to be defended at the yearly interpromotional event. We can expect a slew of longstanding traditions to return such as the Cash in the Vault briefcase ladder match, 24/7 Battle Royal, and more. Promotional billboards and banners have been broadcast across the state of Florida and the Southeastern United States advertising names such as Methuselah, Visual Prophet, Minerva, Myles, The Jaded Hearts, 2024 Grand Rampage Winner Jake Smith, and the promising young upstart Gary Daniels—just to name a few.
Historic PFP Axxess event: Sponsored by The Walt Disney Company, EAW presents ‘Pain for Pride World Week’ at Disney World and Universal Studios. This once-in-a-lifetime event will celebrate heroes and villains from EAW’s long and storied lore, implementing promotions and attractions to promote Pain for Pride and create an immersive fan experience that they will never forget. The event will take place from June 17-20, leading into the weekend’s historic 17th annual Pain for Pride event.
EAW Universal Studios: Universal Studios in Orlando will be the primary location for meet-and-greets with many past and present Elitists. Over 60 members of EAW’s active roster and Hall of Fame are expected to be available Monday through Thursday in rotating three-hour blocks, with autographs and photos beginning at 9 AM EST and closing at 9 PM. Fans will be able to get autographed apparel, take pictures, and chat in person with their favorite Elitists. Meet-and-greets with the following Elitists are currently sold out/unavailable: Jamie O’Hara, Methuselah, The Jaded Hearts, Minerva, Milli Banks.
Pain for Pride Magic Kingdom: The world-famous ‘Magic Kingdom’ park will be completely redone to bring an elite feel to the world’s most nostalgic theme park experience. Over 35 pop-up merchandise shops will be available across the 107-acre park, along with games and raffles available for park-goers nearly at every turn. Multiple Elitists are scheduled (subject to change) to meet with lucky fan raffle winners at select attractions, including a ride on Space Mountain with Rex McAllister and Raven Roberts, a viewing of the Happily Ever After fireworks with Cameron Ella Ava and Jamie O’Hara, and more. (Elitists and rides subject to change)
EPCOT goes Elite: We can expect a state-of-the-art experience the likes of which we’ve never seen before at EPCOT Theme Park. Disney’s Experiences division worked closely with EAW’s board, staff, and fans to model some of EPCOT’s biggest attractions, most notably a seven-figure investment into revamping ‘Spaceship Earth’ into ‘Spaceship Elite’, providing fans a trip through memory lane with a 4K immersive foray into the last 17 years of Pain for Pride history narrated by its legendary founders, Ronn Banks and Mak. In this ride, a recreation of backstage environments, never-before-seen moments, and stories told from the ‘fly on the wall’ POV from EAW’s earliest days and through its most tumultuous time will give a realistic and dazzling view of what exactly it took for EAW to establish itself as the leading combat sports empire on the planet.
Elitist Specials at EPCOT & Universal Studios: VIP fans gained early access to tickets for a sold-out meet & greet and kitchen tour with Chef Viz at the world-famous Universal CityWalk, known for its sit-down restaurants. Multiple shops will be reformed entirely to fit visiting Elitists, such as Treasures of Xandar at EPCOT ® transforming into “Treasures of Xander W/ Xander Payne” on Monday, June 24th, Mitsukoshi’s Department Store at EPCOT ® transforming into “MITSU’s Department Store W/ MITSU” on Tuesday, June 25th, and Plaza De Los Amigos at EPCOT ® transforming into “Plaza De Tlaxcala W/ TLA” on Wednesday, June 26th.
IMAX VR 4D+4K Experience Epcot Walt Disney World: Of the many attractions at Pain for Pride World Week, perhaps the most anticipated is the Pain for Pride 4D/4K experience, nine years and $188 million dollars in the making. A decade-long project beginning at Pain for Pride (2015) in Wembley Stadium will bear the first of its many fruits at the innovative 360º Ride on Soarin’ Around The World, with a hyper-realistic, first-person, virtual reality 4D/4K theatre adventure. According to beta testers within the company, fans will be able to witness the sights and sounds of being at Pain for Pride for themselves and travel, by ‘flight’, from city to city beginning in London at Wembley Stadium in 2015. From a POV overlooking the stadiums, to an in-your-face, in-ring view in the middle of competition, fans can expect it all from feeling the rushing winds over Wembley Stadium, to the hot Miami nights of Pain for Pride 9, the New York City lights, sights, and sounds for Pain for Pride 10, the desert mist and blaring music at Pain for Pride Festival in the Vegas desert, and much more.
More on Pain for Pride 4D/4K: Beta testers have informed sources within the company that fans can expect two feature 4D/4K presentations at EPCOT throughout that week titled: “EAW Pain for Pride: Like You’ve Never Seen It Before!” and “EAW Prophetic Visions: In Living Colour.” Fans will go from a bird’s-eye view to an in-your-face and in-ring perspective of many of the sights and sounds from Pain for Pride’s 8-16, and will experience the absolute chaos that Drake King experienced firsthand during the 2020 instant classic “Prophetic Visions” match from Pain for Pride 13. Must be 16 or older to enter; viewer discretion is advised.
(Read more about EAW’s partnership with Google and EE HERE: https://eawrestling.com/eaw-involved-in-three-way-partnership-between-google-and-ee/)
Family Axxess: While very few tickets and packages remain, family package plans have been incentivized with an extraordinary 17% discount for each child 17 and under (at a maximum of 3 children) applied to the entire week-long bundle. During contract negotiations at the onset of EAW’s deal with Disney, EAW executive HRDO negotiated hard for a price cap to ensure the week-long package bundles are affordable for those who will be bringing their families—hence why a price cap has been set at 7 days/$20,000 package for the highest tier bundle for a family of four. This bundle includes non-floor seats to Pain for Pride Kingdom (wrestling event), as well as lodging, Pain for Pride World Week full access, EAW Universal Studios entry access, and all attractions within Magic City and EPCOT. Due to the understandable demand, AI software technology has also been implemented to fight price gouging and abuse of bundle access on the secondary market, in order to promote a free and fair environment for EAW’s fans to participate in this historic experience.
Full Sail Xperience: Full Sail University will host various Fight Grid matches throughout the week, as well as a number of tryouts for professional athletes looking to realize their dream of becoming an EAW Elitist. Potential names rumored to be volunteering as guest trainers include Voltage Commissioner/EAW Hall of Famer Captain Charisma, EAW New Breed Champion Michael Machina, EAW Interwire Champion Drake Armstrong, and a ‘zero to hero story’ inspirational speech from EAW National Elite Champion, Veena Adams.
On the financial end, EAW is expecting its biggest revenue and profit quarter in company history by a significant margin, including but not limited to:
- 155% estimated profit increase in presale ticket sales for the three-day Pain for Pride Kingdom event (from all-time company records set in 2023)
- 13% estimated revenue increase in ticket presale earnings for the go-home weekly shows compared to the record setting revenue of 2023’s go-home Dynasty, Showdown and Voltage tapings.
- 78% estimated profit increase in EAW.com and Fight Grid merchandise earnings
- 12,000-50,000% estimated increase in gross revenue for PFP Axxess Week from the record set previously by Pain for Pride 16’s Axxess Week hosted in the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville.
Fiscal projections: Q2 2024 is already EAW’s largest fiscal quarter in company history despite being two months away from Pain for Pride Kingdom, due largely in part to incentive bonuses the company has earned from the metrics established within its renewed 1-year contract with Disney back from 2023. EAW is expected to outperform every revenue year with revenue from its performance in Q2 alone, due to the success anticipated from Pain for Pride Kingdom.
Press conference: Pain for Pride Kingdom’s official press conference will be broadcast on EAW’s Youtube channel and on Disney+ from the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida on Friday morning of June 21st, 2024 at 11AM EST – open to the public. (April 2024 update-SOLD OUT)
Disney/EAW summit: The quarterly Disney/EAW summit will be held in the Gatlin Ballroom at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel at 9939 Universal Blvd in Orlando, on Saturday morning of June 22nd, 2024 at 11AM EST – media personnel access only.
It is unclear if or in what capacity EAW will continue working with Disney following the expiry of its contractual relationship with Disney on Aug 1st, 2024 (with all television and merchandising rights set to be converted to a month-to-month agreement, beginning 12:00 AM July 1st, 2024, and subject for termination at any time by either party)
Where to stream/watch: Per ESPN’s theatrical distribution agreement with Theater Sports Network, and a newly minted nationwide deal between EAW and Cinemark, we can expect to see Pain for Pride in a first-time-ever live global theatrical release! It is expected to span over 200 Cinemark theatres in North America, as well as 1,500 theaters representing a dozen movie chains worldwide. Pain for Pride Kingdom will also be available live and in its entirety on Disney+, and available for replay on Hulu+ and ESPN+ streaming services.
Fight Grid will provide more information regarding Pain for Pride 17 AKA Pain for Pride Kingdom when it is made available.
